Here is Ontario's new distracted driving fines

"MooseKnuckles" (andyschenk)
03/18/2014 at 16:21 • Filed to: None

New fines for !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! will change the rules of the road in Ontario. Here are the six top things you should know about the proposed legislation:

The legislation is expected to pass in a vote early this spring and has all-party support.

Fines for distracted driving jump from $155 to $280 today (Tuesday) regardless of the legislation. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , chief justice of the Ontario Court of Justice, decreed that last month in a judicial order.

Fines range from $300 to $1,000, along with three demerit points, for using cellphones while driving, under the changes to the Highway Traffic Act.

Fines range from $300 to $1,000, and three demerit points, for opening a door in the path of a cyclist. Motorists would have to keep one metre from cyclists on the road.

Fines range from $60 to $500 for cyclists not using required lights and reflectors.

What exactly is distracted driving? According to Const. Clint Stibbe, with the Toronto police's Traffic Services, distracted driving occurs any time a person is operating a motor vehicle while holding a mobile device. This means the device doesn't need to be turned on, and the car can't just be stopped; the device must be located away from the driver, and the car must be fully parked. For example, using a mobile device while stopped at a red light can still result in a ticket, Stibbe told the Star.

DISCUSSION (7)

ttyymmnn > MooseKnuckles
03/18/2014 at 16:25

My house is at a T intersection. People coming down the street must stop, and if they kept going straight they'd be entering my driveway. My son just told me that yesterday, when he was playing basketball in the driveway, a woman came up to the intersection and slowed while looking at her phone. Presumably for directions, but it could have been for anything. She rolled through the stop sign, still not looking up, and started rolling into our driveway. She realized what she had done, backed out, and went on her way. I wish I had been out there. She would have heard it from me.

thethePete > MooseKnuckles
03/18/2014 at 17:46

Because clearly the solution is to increase fines. Not to mention most of the time the cops don't notice because they're too busy on their own cellphones. They're allowed you see, because they're far superior drivers than us plebs. *eyeroll* I think distracted driving is a problem, but this is not the solution.

thebigbossyboss > MooseKnuckles
03/18/2014 at 18:52

No fun-tario is at it again. I understand and agree that distracted driving is bad, and I certainly don't condone anyone using a cell phone while driving. However Ontario's fines for all sorts of goddamn crap are ridiculous. $10,000 for going 150 km/h on the highway. 10 fucking grand. Oh yeah and they built the greatest highway network in the dayum country (seriously...go out west and see what the main highway between BC and AB is like) and then they signed it at 62 mph. I understand some parts are a little busy for high speed, some parts have shit merging lanes,

BUT SERIOUSLY WHY THE HELL IS THE SPEED LIMIT 100 BETWEEN CARP AND ARNPRIOR. THERE IS NO TRAFFIC AND ABOUT 6 EXITS, IT'S FLAT, AND YOU CAN SEE FOR 30 DAMN MILES. There are numerous, numerous places like this throughout Ontario.

Meanwhile, while we are all paying tons in fines, (the fine for a red light camera is $400) they let that idiot (Jack Tobin) that killed his friend doing donuts, while drunk, in a parking garage out after a year, on full parole. He was on day parole after 6 months.

Are you kidding me???!!!!?????!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?

Nanny stat-ism at it's finest.

Sorry for ranting, I know it's not your fault. I just get so disgruntled here in Ontario sometimes. The punishment for ordinary law abiding people are life ruining, meanwhile, those who seriously did something wrong get 6 months in jail. For killing someone, for hooning while drunk out after 6 months.

N/A POWAAAHH > MooseKnuckles
03/18/2014 at 20:18

Typical Ontario. Ridiculous fines for everything.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > MooseKnuckles
03/18/2014 at 20:36

I'm all for enforcement, the number of distracted drivers should come down, however I disagree with Ontario's speeding fines, like thebigbossyboss posted, not that I ever had a ticket or anything though.

Greenmobile Supremo Commando, BRZ Extrordinare > thebigbossyboss
03/19/2014 at 22:50

It's such horseshit. Everyone does 120-130 on the highways anyways, and it's not like they can't handle it... For the most part (especially in the GTA) the highways are 3 lanes wide a side or larger, and are very well built, well maintained, and besides rush hour, aren't a cess pool of traffic, so why not raise the limit from 100? I mean, the 100 limit means that it is the MAXIMUM reccomended safe speed to drive on the road, which it clearly isn't.

The argument is that if they raise the limit, people will go faster, which is not the case. People, for the most part, drive on the highway at the speed that they feel safe at. That's why you have some people doing 120, some doing 100 and even some doing 90 in the right lane. The only thing raising the speed limit will do is possibly reduce fines for motorists.

And 10G's and getting your car crushed for doing 50 over? Come the hell on.

thebigbossyboss > Greenmobile Supremo Commando, BRZ Extrordinare
03/19/2014 at 23:13

Oh I agree 100%.